The Story Of Fortem
by Goliathus Regius
Summary: A great danger lays over the seemingly weak and helpless prince of Flavi, but in the midste of a royal family, he can't escape from it alone. His only help from this danger seems to be his servant, but even if he were willing to help Len, could he?


_Whispers._

Len hated those. The hushed voices, spreading rumors, spreading lies. Talking of things that he couldn't hear. It was unbearable for him. The boy hated to be left out of conversations, and yet whispers were the perfect way for others to achieve just that. That's all they were good for, really. Keeping things hidden from other people.

It was far worse when the whispers concerned him. It was downright terrifying to think that the two people in the other room that he could vaguely hear through the wall could be discussing his fate, who he would be for the rest of time, and he couldn't know what it was they were saying. All their speech was garbled by the stone, and no matter how hard he strained, he couldn't make out their words. But he could tell that their voices were urgent and worried, even if he didn't know what words were giving them those feelings.

The blonde was pressed hard against the wall, not having yet accepted he wouldn't be able to hear the conversation. Even at the age of ten he understood something had gone horribly wrong. Whenever his sister finished her trials, there was always merriment and people telling her she was a "good girl", and praising her for how great she was. After all, Rin was extremely powerful, much better than Len could hope to be, even though they were the same age. And she was always getting praise for that. People were always amazed at how strong a ten year old could be.

But not at Len. They never found what he did the least bit impressive And now they weren't just unimpressed with him, but angry. He didn't even know what he had done so awfully wrong, just that he had. And now he was going to pay for the deadly mistake he had made.

The thought sent the young childs brain into overdrive. He searched for something, anything, that would point to what he had done. Perhaps he was just overreacting to the situation. Maybe nothing at all was wrong, and he was just jumping to conclusions far too quickly. He was just a child, after all, surely he hadn't fallen short of their expectations too much, right? Len desperately hoped so. He wished with all his heart that he hadn't done anything wrong. But he wouldn't know any of that until they came back to him with the final result.

The pure terror he felt for the next five minutes as he waited for someone to come into the murky, colorless room were something no child should ever have to experience. He didn't want to let anyone down. How did Rin do what she did so easily? So gracefully? He envied her every moment he sat waiting in the room, vowing to one day be as powerful as his sister.

As time went on, he gradually gathered the will to sit up, yawning softly. Sure, he might not have been in here very long, but every moment seemed like eternity for him. And it didn't help he was only a child, and an impatient one too. The final result was so close at hand and yet so far away that he felt he couldn't take the pressure of it any more.

The bed groaned slightly as he stood up, not able to stay still for another moment. Indulging in his common habit, he started pacing around the room, taking note of everything he saw as he did. It was a slight relief from his wait, and doing so he saw many things he'd missed during the first ten or so minutes he had been in here. Small cracks in the walls, scurrying earwigs and silver-fish that he'd passed over before appeared in abundance before him.

He took careful note of the rooms dark, maroon curtains. They allowed a faint, similarly dark light seep into the already gloomy room. The bed was pushed up against the stone wall, the same wall that separated him from the men discussing him and his embarrassment.

The rest of the room was pretty barren. It only had a brown wool carpet stretching across its ground, and a few appealing and colorful paintings of Len's ancestors that had long since gone. Some of them seemed to stare at him with pleasant expression. But they all offered little comfort for the fate he was awaiting. Instead, they showed him only distractions from what he dreaded so much.

Finally, after what seemed to have been miles of pacing around the room he heard a light knock on the door.

"C-come in" he stammered lightly, having not talked in a while, and his throat still tight from the fear seeping from his heart.

"Len?" Another blonde entered the room, this one a little older than Len, though not by much. He wore a clean, pressed white jacket that reached slightly past his wrists, and a pair of similarly monochrome black pants. There were cotton bandages covering one of his eyes, which the servant had always explained by saying he had been in a fire when he was younger. "They have your results." He told Len, standing aside to let Len out of the room.

Len nodded solemnly, leaving the room and hurrying after the servant. He wondered if he knew of his mistake. Just thinking of it made his cheeks burn. Was his closest friend ashamed of him? He couldn't read the blonde's blank face, but that in itself might have been a clue he had even failed his personal servant.

The boy's name was Oliver, and he had been destined to serve Len in all his needs even before the he was born. His mother was the queens personal servant, and so he had been destined to serve her son. Len and him had always been best friends, far beyond the usual relationship of a servant and master.

But now he feared that he had even pushed Oliver away from him, the only person he thought he could truly trust in this time of need.

Oliver stopped before the door leading to the room that was next to Len's waiting room, and opened the door, holding it for Len as he went inside.

It was a cozy place, at least, it would have been if it weren't for the formidable teachers sitting in the center of it. The room was brightly lit, with two large windows on the walls, and around it were placed two couches and a few chairs. They seemed to invite anyone who was weary to sit on them. But Len couldn't dare do that now, not with those dark, unreadable faces staring at him. Was that shame he saw on their expression? Contempt? Hatred? He couldn't tell.

One of them nodded, slightly stiffly, towards Len. "Nice to see you, My Highness." Len took a few, shy steps into the room, and the man continued speaking. "We have determined the results of your trials today."

Len nodded slightly, gulping down the worst of his terror. "A-and what would that be?"

"You require much training, however, we decided that, considering your heritage and the power of your sister, it's nearly impossible for you to be a dry-blood. Impossible, in fact."

Len left out a sigh of relief, releasing any fear he had left in him. His heart immediately felt many pounds lighter. The young boy wasn't even completely sure what it meant if someone was a dry-blood. All he knew was that it was a horrible thing, and anyone who was one was to be feared and cast away.

Unfortunately, he'd find later that things weren't nearly as good as they seemed to him. But for the moment, he had no idea of that. He thought he truly had potential deep inside himself.

"Thank you." His voice was soft, still slightly shaken from what he had just been through. But it was over now, and the worst of his fears had been cast away with the same ease that wind would blow away even the darkest of clouds.

Greatly relieved and in much higher spirits he left the room, Oliver following closely behind him.

"Would you like anything to eat, or to go to bed, my lord? I'd think the trials would be very tiring for you."

Len let out a small laugh. "Food? Rest? Those are the last things on my mind right now. I want to go to the garden!"

"But, are-"

"Come on!" Len giggled again, grabbing his servants wrist and running, towing the blonde behind him as he ran. "It'll be fun!"

"Okay..." Oliver sounded uncertain, but had no choice other than to follow after his master.

The prince dragged his close friend outside, and grinned broadly at the sky. The garden was a beautifully crafted work of art, and Len adored it. Trees stood over some part of it, growing tall and strong. But right now, that wasn't where Len intended to go. He had his eye on the pond full of tadpoles and minnows. It was large enough to go swimming in, and safe from algae thanks to the gardeners who constantly tended to it.

"Oh, I missed this so much while I was in there!" He called out to no one in particular as he viewed into the reflection of the sky, ripples running through the clouds. "I wish I could live out here."

"Len, don't stand so close too-" Len didn't pay any heed to Oliver's warning as he spread his arms apart, looking like he expected to fall on a bed. Except he fell back into the water instead. After a moment of being submerged by the chilly water he resurfaced, shaking the water out of his hair like a wet dog. Oliver flinched slightly as water splashed onto his outfit.  
>"Len, you're going to get-"<p>

"Oh come on." Len rolled his eyes, pulling himself half out of the water and grabbing his friends hand. He pulled him down into the water next to him, earning a groan from the blonde.

"Great, not I'm wet and dirty too" Oliver whined, but Len didn't mind. He loved it whenever his friend dropped the "servant act" around him and treated him how he wished everyone else would. Like a human being, not a fragile prince they had to protect from every single evil.

"You don't really care" Len said, amused.

Oliver rolled one of his eyes, at least Len could only see him roll one, but sighed in defeat. "Well, I might now, but my mother will when she sees what a mess I've made of my shirt. At least I didn't get my bandages wet..." He plucked a few greying leaves from the loose sleeves, looking disheartened by the damage to the white fabric.

"Cut it out." Len said playfully, shoving his friend, who stumbled, nearly falling back into the water. Oliver rolled his eyes again when he regained his balance. He climbed out of the small pool, grabbing Len's wrists and pulling him up with him.

"How about we go read some new books I found in the library? I think you'll like them. Besides, it's getting dark out here." Len looked again to the darkening, amber sky for a moment, slightly distracted by how similar the color of it and Oliver's eye was. He shook his head slightly, looking back to Oliver, just staring dumbly at him for a moment.

"_Aww._ Fine then. But we should probably dry up first" he finally said. Oliver smiled softly at Len, then started walking out of the garden. The blonde followed him closely inside the castle. Soon his disappointment was replaced with excitement once again. Dressed in dry, warm clothing and dried off, the inseparable pair headed up to the royal family's side of the castle.

In his room, he found the books Oliver had promised him, and the two of them spent the rest of the night pouring over all of them. Len adored them even more than Oliver had promised him he would. They were full of action and hero's, two things he felt like he was missing out on his boring life as a prince. He longed to go out and see the real world for himself, but for the moment, reading books on it with Oliver in his room was enough for him.

That night would turn out to be one of the few good memories Len would have to look back on in the years to come.


End file.
